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April 29, 2004 - 8812 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. 


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(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Medicare Starts Web Site to Compare Drug Prices
Excerpt: "Medicare plans today to open a Web site designed to help millions of older Americans compare prices of their pres.cription drugs. The site is the first big-league test for DestinationRx, a little-known company that Medicare hired without competitive bidding to design and run the system." (New York Times; one-time registration required)

Maryland, Wisconsin Launch Web Sites Comparing Pres.cription Drug Prices, Discount Programs
Excerpt: "Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran (D) unveiled on Tuesday a new state Web site that allows people to enter their ZIP code and the name of a pres.cription drug to compare prices at pharmacies locally and around the state, the Washington Post reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)

Federal Task Force Holds Fourth Meeting on Pres.cription Drug Reimportation
Excerpt: "The Canadian pharmacy system cannot support the 'huge demand for cheaper drugs' from U.S. residents, Canadian pharmacy groups testified on Tuesday at the fourth meeting of the federal Task Force on Drug Importation, Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)

Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Highlights State, Local Developments Related to Drug Reimportation
Excerpt: "The Seattle City Council on Monday unanimously voted to allow the city to begin a study on the potential costs, as well as legal, safety and tax issues, related to a voluntary drug reimportation program modeled after one created last year in Springfield, Mass., the Seattle Times reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)

Full Text: State Healthcare Policy Brief for First Quarter of 2004
Click on 'SHPB Full Report' on target page to view the 14-page document. (National Conference of State Legislatures)

Full Text: the President's Health Information Technology Plan
Excerpt: "The President's Health Information Technology Plan will address longstanding problems of preventable errors, uneven quality, and rising costs in the Nation's health care system." (White House)

Employers Need To Be Aware of Costs of 'Presenteeism'
Excerpt: "Employers know productivity drops when employees come to work with illnesses, but there's been little measurement of the actual dollar impact of presenteeism. Now, Cornell University researchers have found that, on average, the presenteeism costs associated with certain diseases exceed the medical expenses." (BenefitNews.com)

Full Text: Group Health Plan Compliance with HIPAA and ERISA (PDF)
73 pages; a remarkable document! Chapters include 'Questions and Answers Relating to HIPAA,' 'Questions and Answers Relating to the New Claims Review Regulations,' 'Questions and Answers Relating to Group Health Plan Document, Summary Plan Description and Document Disclosure Requirements." (Brown Rudnick Berlack Israels LLP)

Insurers Test Expanded Hospice Coverage
Excerpt: "Aetna Inc. is expected to announce a new program Thursday that will cover hospice care while simultaneously paying for aggressive -- and expensive -- treatments that aim to cure the disease." (Wall Street Journal via SFGate.com)

Medical Costs In Retirement Reach Astounding Proportions
Excerpt: "Even with Medicare coverage, the average out-of-pocket medical expenses for a 65-year-old couple retiring today have reached a staggering level." (CBS MarketWatch)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

GE Execs Hear Complaints From Retirees At Annual Shareholder Meeting
Excerpt: "The chief executive of General Electric Co. delivered an upbeat financial report at the conglomerate's annual shareholder meeting Wednesday, but he was greeted by angry retirees who say their pensions do not reflect the company's strong performance." (WAVE)

Maine Governor Signs Domestic Partner Bill
Excerpt: "Gov. John Baldacci signed a bill Wednesday creating domestic partnerships in Maine. The new law, which takes effect in 90 days, extends domestic partnership rights to heterose.xual or g.ay adults who live together under long-term arrangements." (AP via MaconTelegraph.com)

Amid G.ay Marriages, Some Domestic Partner Benefits Get Axed
Excerpt: "Now that it is about to be legal for same-sex couples to marry, some Massachusetts employers are eliminating domestic-partner benefits for g.ay workers, requiring them to say 'I do' if they want to keep their partners on their insurance." (AP via Contra Costa Times)

Text of Treasury Department's Third Quarterly Update of the 2003 - 2004 Priority Guidance Plan (PDF)
40 pages; April 23, 2004 update. (U.S. Department of the Treasury)

The Effects of Health Insurance and Self-Insurance on Retirement Behavior (PDF)
78 pages. Working paper by Eric French and John Bailey Jones. Excerpt: "We find that for workers whose insurance is tied to their job, shifting the Medicare eligibility age to 67 will significantly delay retirement. However, we find that the plan to shift the Social Security normal retirement age to 67 will cause an even larger delay.' Executive summary at http://www.bc.edu/centers/crr/papers/summary/wp_2004-12.pdf (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

Newly Posted Events

ABA Retirement Services Conference
in District of Columbia on June 27, 2004
presented by American Bankers Association

Form 5500 for Welfare Plans - A Special Two-part Program
Nationwide on May 25, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel

Get More From Your Executive Coaching Dollar Audio Conference
Nationwide on May 13, 2004
presented by Thompson Interactive, A Division of Thompson Publishing Group

How Can Information Technology Improve Health Care Quality?
in District of Columbia on May 7, 2004
presented by Alliance for Health Reform
Newly Posted Press Releases

RW Benefit Communications and Benefit Software Inc. Successfully Launch TotalCompTM Online for Chicago-Based Company
(Benefit Software Inc.)

Total Debt Burden for Older American Families Generally Stable But Housing Debt Up
(Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))

Government and Regulatory Initiatives Endanger America’s Retirement Security
(AFP)

FreeERISA.com is pleased to announce that our website has been updated with the latest information from the Department of Labor
(FreeERISA.com)

HSA Report Announces Weekly Delivery Option
(benefits information group)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Manager, Compliance Testing
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in NY

Senior Healthcare Underwriter
for NRECA
in VA

Defined Contribution Pension Administrator
for Iron Administration, LLC
in IL

Plan Administration Manager
for Boston Financial Data Services
in MA

Pension Consultant
for Small Plan Firm With DB Concentration
in IL

401(k) retirement plan administrator
for APEX Benefits Administration
in WA

401(k) Daily Valuation Team Leader
for Associates in Excellence
in CA

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